Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
For a parametric equation of a parabola in general position see § As the affine image of the unit parabola. The implicit equation of a parabola is defined by an irreducible polynomial of degree two: + + + + + =, such that =, or, equivalently, such that + + is the square of a linear polynomial.
A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid , that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis.
They showed that the mirror reflection point can be computed by solving an eighth-degree equation in the most general case. If the camera (eye) is placed on the axis of the mirror, the degree of the equation reduces to six. [15] Alhazen's problem can also be extended to multiple refractions from a spherical ball.
The equation for a conic section with apex at the origin and tangent to the y axis is + (+) = alternately = + (+) where R is the radius of curvature at x = 0. This formulation is used in geometric optics to specify oblate elliptical ( K > 0 ), spherical ( K = 0 ), prolate elliptical ( 0 > K > −1 ), parabolic ( K = −1 ), and hyperbolic ( K ...
For a proof, see Parabola § Proof of the reflective property. Therefore, the shape of a circular paraboloid is widely used in astronomy for parabolic reflectors and parabolic antennas. The surface of a rotating liquid is also a circular paraboloid. This is used in liquid-mirror telescopes and in making solid telescope mirrors (see rotating ...
Define b by the equations c 2 = a 2 − b 2 for an ellipse and c 2 = a 2 + b 2 for a hyperbola. For a circle, c = 0 so a 2 = b 2, with radius r = a = b. For the parabola, the standard form has the focus on the x-axis at the point (a, 0) and the directrix the line with equation x = −a. In standard form the parabola will always pass through the ...
A parabola can be obtained as the limit of a sequence of ellipses where one focus is kept fixed as the other is allowed to move arbitrarily far away in one direction, keeping fixed. Thus a and b tend to infinity, a faster than b. The length of the semi-minor axis could also be found using the following formula: [2]
A concave mirror with light rays Center of curvature. In geometry, the center of curvature of a curve is a point located at a distance from the curve equal to the radius of curvature lying on the curve normal vector. It is the point at infinity if the curvature is zero. The osculating circle to the curve is centered at the centre of curvature.